In wireless networks, IP connectivity is provided to a mobile station (MS) by the use of at least two modes of operation. The first mode of operation can be referred to as a Browser or Internal Mode, where a connection is initiated from the MS. In this mode, and by example, a browser or mini-browser that runs in the MS can initiate a TCP/IP connection to access the Internet. In a second mode of operation, also referred to as a Relay Mode, the MS is used as a dial-up wireless modem to provide IP connectivity to a computing device, such as a desktop or laptop computer.
In the Internal Mode those applications resident on the MS, such as the mini-browser, communicate with the Internet over-the-air, while in the Relay Mode the IP traffic from the computing device is transparently relayed by the MS to a bearer (e.g., a code division, multiple access (CDMA) or a global system for mobile communication (GSM)/general packet radio system (GPRS) radio bearer).
However, no standard technique is known to currently exist by which the computing device can establish an IP connection with applications residing on the MS, for example with a PIM (Personal Information Management) application, without using a cellular network. As can be appreciated, in some applications it may be less than desirable to use the cellular network for making an IP connection between a MS and a local computing device, such as a laptop computer in one's home or office.
Thus, while standards, procedures and protocols are currently in place for enabling an application that resides on the MS to connect to an application that resides on a computing device over the cellular network, such as a CDMA or GPRS network in the Internal Mode of operation, no standard technique of communication over a short-haul interface, such as a USB, or a Serial IR (short range infrared) or a Bluetooth™ (low power, short range RF) interface, is currently available.
While one might attempt to circumvent this problem by writing special device drivers that would plug-in as, for example, USB, Serial IR, or Bluetooth™ IP interfaces into the computing device's Operating System (OS), this approach would require developing, supporting, installing and possibly uninstalling device drivers for several different computing device architectures.
Prior to this invention, there was no satisfactory solution to the problem that arises when a computing device desires to communicate with an application resident on a MS using IP-based protocols over a medium other than the cellular network.